Allie McRitchie ’14 is an Undergraduate Academic Advisor in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, working with Open Option engineering students and undecided students in the college.

McRitchie also monitor students’ academic performance and assists with early alert efforts to support students experiencing academic difficulty.

“I enjoy assisting students in reaching their educational potential and goals as well as helping them overcome challenges they may face along the way,” she says.

“My passion is working with undergraduate students to help them navigate the complexity of higher education and to build relationships with students to assist their intellectual, social, and personal growth.”

Her OHIO Experience

During her time at Ohio University McRitchie was lucky to work as an Orientation Leader for three years with the Bobcat Student Orientation Program as an Arts and Sciences Representative. She also worked with the Office of Admissions and assisted in sending prospective students information about OHIO and gathered supplies for large on-campus visit programs.

Through both of these experiences, she realized she had a passion for engaging and mentoring undergraduate students and helping them navigate college and overcome challenges.

In her Bobcat Student Orientation role, she was able to peer advise on the first semester curriculum and offer advice to new students joining the Bobcat Family.

This led her to pursue her Master’s in Higher Education and ultimately study how students may make decisions about their careers and future goals and more through Student Development Theory.

“My mentors at Ohio University created my passion for academic advising,” McRitchie says.

In her current role, her math background helps her connect with engineering students because understands the difficulty and complexity of the content.
Her sociology background has allowed her to understand the intricacy of social relationships, social interactions, and societal institutions when engaging with diverse students.

She remembers being a junior at Ohio University and feeling uncertain about her future and what she would do after leaving Athens.

Still, the curriculum and degrees she completed gave her critical and analytical thinking skills which, along with the jobs, mentors, and experiences she had during her positions at OHIO, guided her towards her current position.

McRitchie is aware of the unique position she has working with Open Option, or undecided students in engineering, who are often feeling the uncertainty she felt as a college student about their future and life after college.

This is why her current position is so meaningful to her – helping students navigate that uncertainty and helping them feel comfortable with the decisions they make.

“That is exactly what my time, my mentors, and my experiences in A&S and at OHIO did for me,” she explains.